Martinez recipe

Occasionally this combination of gin, vermouth, maraschino and bitters provides us with a much needed escape. Jerry Thomas described the Martinez as "an Old Tom Gin version of the Manhatten". Epicures will know it as something of an martini incognito, sadly understated. And, given the Martini, an icon of American culture, the Martinez Cocktail is something of a washed-out memento. That's not to say it isn't appreciated, however.

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

More comments

Tried and liked it!

posted by Janis @ 11:30PM, 9/09/06

Didn't have marischino cherry so I subbed a small splash of loganberry liqueur and loved it. Very easy to drink compared to some for us lightweights.

Several tales are often heard on how the Martinez came about. Few believe Martinez' version of events: A traveller on his return to San Francisco in 1849, at the height of the Gold Rush, stopped by Julio Richelieus' bar in Ferry Street, Martinez. After buying a bottle of whiskey, for which he paid for with a gold nugget, the man asked Julio to create a brand-new cocktail as change. Julio agreed, and gave him what he called a Martinez. And, those behind Martinez' fallacy claim if you cite the name repeatedly you're left with Martini, even though Lowell Edmunds, a classics professor at Rutgers, tells us the Martini was unheard of in these parts only decades ago.

Nonetheless a drink with some resemblance to the Martinez did appear in 1862's 'Bon Viviants Companion or How to Mix Drinks' by legendary bartender 'Professor' Jerry Thomas, renowned for bringing us concoctions like that of the Brandy Crusta or Blue Blazer. Thomas' Gin Cocktail, listed inside the book, provides the basis for the Martinez he later created whilst working in San Francisco's Occidental Hotel during the 1860's. Thomas served the drink to a customer enroute to the east bay town of Martinez, California, from which it took it's name. As with most other cocktails, it was made using sweet vermouth - the only type of vermouth readily available at the time. Early recipes would often call for gin, rosso vermouth, a dash or two of maraschino liqueur and/or orange curacao, and a dash of orange bitters. O.H. Byron's 1884 book 'The Modern Bartender' was the first to include the Martinez recipe in print. By the 1887 edition of 'Bon Viviants Companion' Thomas himself had divulged a recipe, claiming full credit for it's creation.

Thomas' Martinez
1 dash of Boker's bitters
2 dashes of Maraschino
1 wine glass of Vermouth
2 lamps of ice
1 pony of Old Tom Gin
Shake up thoroughly, and strain into a large cocktail glass. Put a quarter of a slice of lemon in the glass, and serve. If the guest prefers it very sweet, add two dashes of gum syrup.

It was at this time that the Martini also first began to appear, leading to confusion as to whether or not the Martini was simply a corruption of the Martinez. Several late 19th-century publications, like Harry Johnson's "New and Improved Illustrated Bartender's Manual or How To Mix Drinks of the Present Style", include the same recipe interchangeably using both these names. In this instance, Johnson's Martini was the spit of everyone else's Martinez.

Clearly today's drinks are world's apart. A decline in the ratio of vermouth to gin used in the Martinez - about 1:1 today - may be partly to blame, along with the sweet/rosso variety, which seemed to have been replaced by the 1930's. The Martinez - like the Martini - is now enjoyed with dry vermouth. We choose to sip it after a long day to put by our anxieties and gather one's thoughts, albeit short-lived.